Systems and methods for accessing telescopes

ABSTRACT

A user obtains, views and stores image data of a selected celestial object from a network of available telescopes using a computer-generated user interface. Based on the selected object, information is accessed regarding each telescope from data sources such as databases and/or live data feeds to automatically select telescopes that are suitable for imaging the object, e.g., according to factors such as telescope type, power and configuration, location, weather conditions and altitude. The user may select a particular telescope and imaging time from a schedule of available telescopes and imaging times. At the scheduled time, an image is recorded of the celestial object and communicated to a central data store for access by the user, e.g., via a web site The user may be charged for the service based on factors such as exposure time, scheduling priority, type of telescope and the like.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides systems and methods for accessingtelescopes and, more particularly, to accessing a worldwide network oftelescopes via a computer network such as the Internet.

Telescopes have become increasingly sophisticated since theirdevelopment in the seventeenth century, and are an important tool forresearch, education and entertainment for both amateur and professionalastronomers. Initially, telescopes allowed the user to observe the skiesby simply looking into the eyepiece. In the 1930's, telescopic imageswere first captured on film. In the 1980's, electronic image capture wasmade possible by the advent of high quality charge-coupled device (CCD)cameras. Electronic image capturing coupled with remote controltechnology allowed the professional astronomer to operate a telescope ina more comfortable environment, such as a control room, where the imagescould be viewed on a CRT monitor. This notion of comfort wasparticularly important because telescope observatories are typicallylocated in remote, high-altitude sites to minimize the thickness ofatmosphere through which the light must travel to reach the telescope,and to avoid the negative effects of city lights.

During the 1990's, computer networks allowed the professional astronomerto control a telescope remotely and obtain image data from a remotelocation. The networks also allowed the astronomer to do work with manydifferent observatories at the same time, using their in-depth knowledgeand consulting with colleagues in the field to choose the most suitableobservatory and telescope for each task. Typically, the professionalastronomers, who were often associated with universities, had specialaccess to the observatories and special knowledge of the availabilityand types of equipment.

The evolution of amateur astronomy has followed a similar path, but withsome differences. The major difference is that the amateur's telescopeis rarely mounted far from the observing site since maintaining a remotetelescope site is expensive. Moreover, different settings, and evendifferent telescopes are often required for observing various celestialobjects. Again, the amateur typically does not have the resources of awell-equipped observatory.

Previous efforts have not provided a satisfactory solution. U.S. Pat.No. 6,085,227 to Edlund et al. “System and method for operatingscientific instruments over wide area networks,” discusses a system thatincludes client computers for interacting with users to accept commandsand display results, a proxy server computer for performing intermediateprocessing of commands and results, and a device server computer coupledto the remote device that executes the commands and generates theresults.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention enables a user to obtain, view and store imagedata of a selected celestial object from a network of availabletelescopes using a computer-generated user interface. The inventionassists astronomers, including amateur astronomers and other members ofthe general public, in selecting a telescope that is suitable forviewing a selected celestial object, and in scheduling use of thetelescope and obtaining image data from the telescope. The inventionalso provides a database that is used to determine the availability of atelescope in the network.

In one aspect, a system for determining availability of telescopes toview a given celestial object includes a database having informationfrom which can be determined the identity of any of the telescopes tosuitably view a celestial object, and a time for doing so, and acomputer programmed to access the database and identify any telescopethat can suitably view a given celestial body and a time for doing so.

In another aspect, a method for providing access to telescopes includesreceiving a user request via a computer network to view a specifiedcelestial object, and using a data source having information relating tothe telescopes and celestial objects to identify any telescope that cansuitably view the specified celestial object.

In another aspect, a method for scheduling access to a telescopeincludes receiving a request from a computer-generated user interface toview a celestial object, determining, in response to the request, aproposed schedule indicating when a telescope is available to view thecelestial object, informing a user of the proposed schedule via the userinterface, and upon acceptance by the user of the proposed schedule,scheduling access to the telescope by the user according to the proposedschedule.

In another aspect, a method for providing access to telescopes includesselecting a celestial object of interest using a computer-generated userinterface, communicating information identifying the selected celestialobject to a remote data processing facility, accessing at the dataprocessing facility a data source of information relating to thetelescopes to select a telescope that can suitably view the selectedcelestial object, and communicating with the particular telescope toobtain an image of the selected celestial object.

In another aspect, a method for providing an on-line service foraccessing telescopes includes receiving a user request to view aspecified celestial object, responsive to the user request, selecting aparticular telescope to use to obtain an image of the celestial object,and assessing a fee to the user for obtaining the image.

Corresponding systems are also presented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawingswhich are meant to be exemplary and not limiting, in which likereferences are intended to refer to like or corresponding parts, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for accessing telescopes; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for accessing telescopes; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for scheduling the imaging of a selectedobject;

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for recording an image of a selected object;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example user interface for selecting an object tobe imaged;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example user interface of a proposed schedule foraccessing one or more telescopes;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example user interface for viewing image data; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a billing and accounting method for a telescopeservice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for accessing telescopes. The system may beconfigured in a variety of ways. In one approach, one or more userinterfaces (U1, U2, U3), a data processing facility 110, and one or moreobservatories (O1, O2, O3) are provided which communicate via a network195. A billing and accounting module 105, discussed further inconnection with FIG. 8, may be associated with the data processingfacility 110 for charging users for services they use and maintainingappropriate records, e.g., regarding the users' identities, billinginformation, and so forth. The network 195 may include any type ofcommunication network regardless of the physical channel orcommunication protocols used. For example, a wireless link between atemporary telescope site and the data processing facility 110 may beused. The Internet is particularly suitable, although wireless cellphone and satellite phone networks and other proprietary networks mayalso be used. Moreover, combination of network types may be employed.The data processing facility 110 may include a computer such as aworkstation or the like with components for executing software,including a processor for executing software instructions and a memoryfor storing the instructions.

The different user interfaces (U1, U2, U3) may communicate with oneanother to share image data and other information. This may beparticularly useful in a classroom or other educational setting, forexample, where the instructor can guide students through differentfunctions of the interface. In one approach, the students' displaysmirror the instructor's display. These functionalities can be achievedusing known techniques, such as broadcasting or multicasting. In aclassroom or campus environment, the user interfaces may communicate vialocal area network (LAN), for instance.

The user interface, which may be generated on a display of a personalcomputer running appropriate software, allows a user and the dataprocessing facility 110 to communicate with one another. The softwaremay be loaded to the user's computers locally from a storage medium suchas a CD-ROM reader, and/or downloaded from the data processing facility110 or other remote location. In particular, in a web-based embodiment,the users may run browser software on their computers and connect to aweb site that enables them to download software. A billing andaccounting module 105 may implement various business models, e.g., tocharge a fee to the users for downloading the software and/or for usingthe telescope service. The software may execute locally at the user'scomputer and/or at the data processing facility 110 to provide asoftware application that allows the user to access, and obtain imagesfrom, a network of telescopes. Example graphical user interfaces thatmay be provided using such an application are discussed further below inconnection with FIGS. 5-7. The user interface may run on any type ofcomputing device, including a desktop or laptop computer, as well as amore portable device such as a personal digital assistant.

The data processing facility 110 may execute software instructions toprovide an imaging agent 120, discussed further in connection with FIG.2, which is software for communicating with the user interfaces. Thedata processing facility 110 may further include a data source such asan object database 125 for storing data regarding various astronomical(e.g., celestial) objects, such as planets, stars, nebulas, meteors,comets and so forth. Note that the databases at the data processingfacility 110 may be combined with one another. Other data that may beprovided by the data source includes the magnitude or brightness of theobjects, a thumbnail image of the objects, a brief or detailed textdescription of the objects, links to related information on the web andrecommended settings for viewing the object, including telescopeposition settings, e.g., Right Ascension (RA) and Declination (Dec), orElevation and Azimuth, exposure settings, filter settings and trackingmode settings. These data may be obtained from known astronomy datasources and uploaded by an operator of the data processing facility 110,retrieved from a local storage medium and/or retrieved from remote datasources such as data sources 198. Data in the object database 125 mayalso be obtained from local information, such as weather and telescopeavailability, provided by the observatories. Alternatively, oradditionally, the object database 125 may be provided at the users'computers and/or at the observatories.

A scheduler 130, which may be implemented by software running at thedata processing facility 110, and which may access a local and/or remotedatabase or other data source that stores information associated withthe telescopes for use in the selection process, communicates with theuser interfaces and the observatories to schedule times for capturingimage data of specified objects based on user requests. The database(s)may store information identifying the telescopes, the celestial objectsthat a respective telescope can suitably view and one or more times whena respective telescope can be used to suitably view a respectivecelestial body. This information maybe stored in an associated mannerusing known database techniques. A simplified example format for atelescope T1 and two objects O1 and O2 is as follows:

celestial object Telescope Viewing Time/Date O1 T1 1:00 a.m.-5:00a.m./today. O1 T1 1:05 a.m.-5:05 a.m./tomorrow. O2 T1 2:00 a.m.-6:00a.m./today. O2 T1 2:05 a.m.-6:05 a.m./today.

Also, the database(s) can store, in an associated manner, quality ordesirability information related to the telescope. A simplified exampleformat is as follows for telescopes T1, T2 and T3 and quality levels Q1and Q2.

Telescope Quality T1 Q1 T2 Q1 T3 Q2

Alternatively, or additionally, the software for implementing thescheduler may run at the users' computers and/or the observatories.Personnel at the observatory sites may inform the scheduler 130,discussed further in connection with FIG. 3, when the site is notavailable, e.g., due to maintenance or other factors.

A weather module 135 may be implemented by software executing at thedata processing facility 110 to maintain and/or access a data sourcehaving information regarding current and forecasted weather conditionsassociated with the observatories, including cloud cover, visibility,temperature and the like. The weather module may employ one or moredatabases that store, in an associated manner, weather informationrelated to the telescopes and the identity of the telescopes. Asimplified example format for a telescope T1 is as follows. The “go” or“no go” status indicates whether or not the weather is acceptable forimaging an object.

Telescope Time/Date Weather Status T1 10:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m./today clear,go 50 deg. F. T1  2:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m./today clear, go 45 deg. F. T110:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m./tomorrow cloudy, no go 55 deg. F.

Various data sources may be used to obtain weather data, includingpersonnel at the observatory sites who can provide current informationregarding cloud cover or visibility for any region of the sky. Thisinformation can be manually entered at a workstation and made availableto the weather module 135 using known computer network communicationtechniques. For example, the weather module 135 may periodically querythe workstation at the observatory to determine if new weather data hasbeen entered. Or, the workstation can communicate updated weather datato the weather module 135 on its own initiative. Furthermore, weatherdata such as visibility may be obtained automatically from one or morecameras, such as CCD cameras, at the observatory sites that photographor otherwise obtain images of the sky at regular intervals. Recognitionsoftware may be used to compare the images obtained from the camera withknown images from a reference library that were taken under clear skyconditions to determine if the sky is currently clear. A computer at theobservatory running the recognition software can then set a status flagor signal indicating whether the weather conditions are currentlyacceptable for using the one or more telescopes at the observatory.

As indicated, the weather module 135 can periodically poll theobservatories to determine their availability status based on thecurrent and forecast weather. Or, the weather module 135 can pollspecific observatories as needed when those observatories have beenselected as being appropriate for handling current object viewingrequests. In a further possibility, the weather module 135 may obtainweather data from a networked data source 198 such as a governmental orcorporate weather data service. These services may provide specificregional forecasting, also known as microcasting, which provideslocalized weather reporting for current and forecast conditions. This isparticularly useful in determining whether the weather at a telescopesite is acceptable for obtaining image data.

A central data store 140 may be used to store image data that itreceives from the local data stores 185 of the observatories. Users canretrieve the image data from the central data store 140 and view it ontheir user interfaces. Optionally, the image data may be retrieved bythe users directly from the local data stores 185 at the observatories,or otherwise communicated to the users from the central data store orthe local data store, e.g., via e-mail. It is also possible for ahardcopy printout of the image to be mailed to the user. Althoughvarious different approaches are viable, providing the image data to theusers via the central data store 140 rather than directly from theobservatories can provide benefits such as centralized control by theservice provider, faster access and improved availability.

The data processing facility 110 may be implemented using known computerhardware, networking and software techniques to achieve thefunctionality described herein. Generally, the data processing facility100 accesses one or more data sources to obtain the necessaryinformation for assisting a user in obtaining an image of an object froma suitable telescope. This may be achieved using any known systems andtechniques for storing, accessing and manipulating data, whether localto, or remote from, the data processing facility 110.

The observatory O1 typically is a permanent structure where one or moretelescopes 160 and other monitoring and control equipment are housed.However, the term is meant to include temporary telescope set-ups as maybe provided in a desired location, such as a desert, mountainous area orother location. There is no need for the telescope to be housed in astructure. For such temporary set-ups, a wireless communication link maybe used to communicate with the data processing facility 110 and/orusers as needed. Such a link may be established using satellite or otherwireless transmitting and receiving equipment, for instance.Additionally, the telescope itself may be of any design type, includingoptical and radio telescopes, that provide an image of interest. Thetelescope 160 has an associated imaging device 165 such as a CCD camerathat obtains electronic images from the telescope's field of view. Suchcameras and equipment for using them with telescopes are well known inthe art.

The batch job executer 170 may be used to maintain a request queue forone or more telescopes. In one approach, before the scheduled times, thescheduler 130 sends multiple user requests to use the telescope 160 toobtain image data. The requests are queued by the batch job executer 170until the scheduled time, when the batch job executer 170 sends thecorresponding request to an observatory station controller (OSC) 175.The batch job executer 170 receives job status information and an imagefile back from the observatory station controller 175, and forwards theimage file to the local data store 185. The file may be any type of filefor storing image data.

The OSC 175 may control local telescope functions, including, forexample, opening and closing an observatory door, controlling telescopefocus and switching a filter wheel. The OSC 175 also may communicatewith a drive controller 180 of the telescope by providing it with “goto” position commands, tracking mode data, and slew speed selectiondata. The drive controller 180 may be a closed-loop servo controller.Moreover, the OSC 175 may implement telescope settings selected by theuser via the user interface, and/or default settings, as discussedfurther in connection with FIG. 5. These settings may be communicated tothe OSC 175 by the scheduler 130 in an imaging request message. Anidentifier of the celestial object that is being imaged may becommunicated to the OSC 175, such that the OSC determines settings froma look-up table or the like based on the identifier.

Note that the system can accommodate any number of additionalobservatories, such as observatories O2 and O3, that may operate asdiscussed in connection with observatory O1, as well as any number ofusers that may operate as discussed in connection with the user U1.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for accessing telescopes. Refer also to theuser interface 500 of FIG. 5. At block 200, the user initiates theprocess by running software such as an applet at the user interface. Atblock 210, the user selects a celestial object to view from a databaseof available objects. In one possibility, the user may use a mouse orother pointing device to highlight a particular object, then click on a“select object” button. In the interface 500, there are five objectsavailable, although a more comprehensive menu of hundreds or eventhousands of objects is readily obtainable from known data sources. Theinterface 500 may allow the user to obtain additional information aboutthe objects, such as a textual description, links to related informationon the web and so forth. At block 220, the user accepts recommendedsettings for viewing the object or enters manual settings, or acombination of recommended/default and manual settings may be used.These settings may include, e.g., Right Ascension (RA) and Declination(Dec), or Elevation and Azimuth, exposure settings, filter settings andtracking mode settings. At block 230, the user requests an image of theselected object. Essentially, the user has located a celestial object ofinterest and desires to obtain an image of the object from a telescopethat may be located on the other side of the globe. Note that multipleimaging requests by one user may also be handled at the same time. Theobject of interest may be selected by the novice astronomer based simplyon its appearance, name or recent media coverage, or by the professionalor more experienced amateur astronomer based on specific researchobjectives. For example, the professional astronomer may know that it isa particularly good time of year to obtain a clear image of a particularobject, or that an unusual occurrence is about to occur, such as aninteraction of two objects. The user interface may similarly provideinformation to assist the novice astronomer by suggesting particularcelestial objects that may be desirable to view at the time. Inparticular, the user interface may connect to a web site that ismaintained by a service provider to obtain current information aboutdesirable viewing events. The web site may further provide a calendar offuture viewing events to allow the user to plan ahead and to request animage, even months in advance. Moreover, by submitting an early request,the user may be rewarded, e.g., by a more desirable scheduled imagingperiod and/or preferred telescope.

At block 240, the applet running at the user interface sends the user'srequest to the scheduler 130 via the imaging agent 120. At block 300,the scheduler 130 schedules the imaging of the object, as discussedfurther in connection with FIG. 3. At the scheduled time, the image isrecorded (block 400), as discussed further in connection with FIG. 4,and at block 250, the user is finally able to view the image using theinterface.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for scheduling the imaging of a selectedobject. Note that the steps shown here and elsewhere are examples onlyand need not occur in discrete steps or in the order shown. Generally,the scheduler 130 may access one or more data sources such as a databaseof information relating to the telescopes, including telescope type,availability, power, quality, configuration, location, weatherconditions and altitude. For example, the scheduler may execute softwareto determine one or more suitable telescopes that can obtain an image ofthe user-designated celestial object (block 310), e.g., based on alocation of the telescope relative to the object. In one possibleapproach, this can be achieved by accessing a data source that providesa rise and set time of the object, and a midpoint time between the riseand set times, when the object is at its zenith or highest point in thesky. Or, if not provided in the data source, the zenith may becalculated as needed from the rise and set times. A suitable telescopefor imaging the object is one that is located sufficiently closest tothe point in the night sky where the object is at its zenith. Forexample, using known calculations and software, a distance between alocation on the earth, expressed, e.g., in terms of a longitude andlatitude, and the zenith location can be determined. The telescope thatis closest to the zenith location may then be selected as the preferredor best-situated telescope to image the object. Moreover, a number oftelescopes may be sorted according to their proximity to the object foruse in the selection process. Resources for obtaining software formaking such calculations are widely available from universities,government agencies and astronomy groups. A simplified psuedo-code forthe above is as follows, where the distance calculations are made usingvectors O, T1 and T2 that extend from the origin of any coordinatesystem, such as spherical or Cartesian, to the object, telescope 1 andtelescope 2, respectively. “abs” denotes absolute value.

obtain rise and set time of object O→ 2:00 a.m. rise time, 6:00 a.m. settime determine zenith→4:00 a.m. distance between object O at zenith andtelescope T1→abs(O-T1) distance between object O at zenith and telescopeT2→abs(O-T2) if abs(O-T1) < abs(O-T2), select T1 else select T2

At block 315, a determination is made as to whether the telescopes thatare suitable for imaging the object based on their location are alsosuitable based on their power and the brightness of the object, e.g., asindicated by a brightness measure such as virtual magnitude. An objectthat is relatively dim should be imaged by a telescope that isrelatively powerful. Of the telescopes that are still tentativecandidates, those having unacceptable weather are excluded (block 320).Weather data may be accessed as discussed above from available datasources. Additionally, at block 325, a telescope may be excluded basedon the relative position of the moon to the object from the telescope'sperspective since the light from the moon will make it harder to imagean object such as a star. The brightness and/or fullness of the moon mayalso be considered in this decision. Moreover, at block 330, telescopesthat are not available sufficiently soon, e.g., due to scheduled periodsallotted to other astronomers, or downtime of the telescopes for repairsor the like, are excluded from consideration.

Note that other various filtering criteria and tradeoffs may be appliedto the selection process. For example, a higher-powered telescope thatis further from the object at its zenith than a lower power telescopemay be selected. Various metrics may be developed for use in suchtradeoffs. Moreover, the selection process may be adjusted based on afee paid by the user, such that a more desirable telescope or scheduledimaging time is provided to a user that pays a greater fee.

For the selected telescopes, at block 340, one or more time periods arereserved in a proposed schedule for the user. At block 350, the proposedschedule is presented to the user to be confirmed, as discussed furtherin connection with FIG. 6, by communicating the appropriate informationto the user interface. Once the schedule is confirmed, at block 360, thescheduler sends an imaging request job or message to the batch jobexecuter 170. This message may include information such as the settingsthat are to be applied to the telescope when imaging the selectedobject. Default settings may also be applied at the telescope site. Atblock 370, changed conditions are monitored to determine whether acancellation of the scheduled imaging time is warranted, e.g., due topoor weather, lack of availability, or a user-initiated cancellation.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for recording an image of a selected object(block 400). The batch job executer runs the imaging request jobreceived from the scheduler at the scheduled time (block 405), and sendsan imaging request to the OSC (block 410). In response, the OSC sendscommands to drive a controller to position the telescope as needed toimage the object (block 415). Moreover, the OSC may upload settings tothe imaging device such as exposure duration, filter setting or the like(block 420). Once the telescope has been configured and moved to theappropriate position, the imaging device records an image during anexposure time, which may be several minutes, and downloaded by the OSC(block 425). The OSC also informs the batch job executer when it isdone, so the executer can begin to process the next imaging request(block 430).

The batch job executer may download the image data to a local data store(block 435), after which the data is uploaded to a central data store(block 440), the imaging agent is informed by the batch job executerthat the imaging request has been fulfilled (block 445), and the imagingagent informs the user interface via the applet that the request hasbeen fulfilled (block 450), for example, using the message “new imagedata available” in the interface 700 of FIG. 7. This enables the user todownload the image data from the central data store (block 455) and viewit using the interface 700. The user may be notified that the image isavailable when he or she connects to a web site that offers the on-line,e.g., computer network-accessible, service. Also, e-mail may be sent tothe user informing him or her that the image data is available.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example user interface 500 for selecting an objectto be imaged. The interface 500 may present an “object chooser” functionthat, when selected, causes the display of a number of differentcelestial objects, e.g., objects #1-#5, from a catalog of objects.Moreover, the objects may be arranged according to type, e.g.: sun,moon, planets and their moons, constellations, stars and deep skyobjects. Furthermore, specific objects may be featured by the serviceprovider based on specific interests of the user, e.g., as determined bytracking the user's previous activities or via an on-line or off-linesurvey. Additionally, a drop down list or the like may enable the userto sort the object types according to Name, Right Ascension (RA),Declination (Dec), Virtual Magnitude (V Mag), and Zenith Distance.

Using other functions that are presented on the interface 500, the usermay select an object of interest, view the recommended settings forviewing the object and, if desired, accept the settings, set manualsettings in place of, or in conjunction with, the recommended settingsand request an image of the object. The user may also select whether theproximity of the moon to the object should be used to exclude certaintelescopes and/or time periods from consideration. As discussedpreviously, the data for generating the interface 500 and the otherinterfaces may be stored locally to, and/or remotely from, the computingdevices on which the interfaces are generated. For instance, in aweb-based approach, some of the information for generating theinterfaces may be stored at a web server, e.g., at the data processingfacility 110 or other location, and communicated to the devices usingknown computer network communication techniques.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example user interface 600 of a proposed schedulefor accessing one or more telescopes. Once the user has requested animage of a particular celestial object, and one or more suitabletelescopes are identified by accessing various data sources, a proposedschedule is presented to the user. For example, in this case, atelescope #1 is available at two different time periods, while atelescope #2 is available at one time period. The user has the option ofselecting one of the time periods by indicating his or her preference ina checkbox or the like in the interface 600 and clicking on a “submit”button. Moreover, the time may be expressed as an estimated time of day.In fact, the required exposure time and telescope configuration time canvary for the different objects in each imaging request job, so thetelescope may be ready to image a next object before the originallyscheduled time. Generally, the image request jobs may be processed inthe batch order, one after another. If desired, provisions may be madeso that an imaging job occurs at an exact time.

The user may be given more scheduling choices based on payment of alarger fee to the service provider, while a user paying a relativelysmall fee is given more limited choices or no choice. Also, when achoice of schedules is provided, the user may be required to respondwithin a given amount of time. Moreover, again depending on the feepaid, the scheduled time periods may be held for the preferred user fora longer time compared to a lower paying user. Additionally, thescheduled time periods that are offered to a first user may not beoffered to other users until they are rejected by the first user, or,alternatively, common scheduled time periods for the same telescope maybe offered to multiple users at once, in which case the user that isfirst to accept a time period is granted that period, and the schedulesof the other users may be updated to delete the accepted time periodfrom the available choices.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example user interface 700 for viewing image data.As discussed, the interface 700 allows a user to view image data thathas been obtained by a telescope and made available, e.g., by the dataprocessing facility 110. The interface 700 informs the user that the newimage data is available, and enables the user to view it, e.g., bydownloading it from the central data store. Buttons or other elementsmay be provided in the interface 700 to enable the user to manipulatethe image, e.g., by zooming in or out, panning, adding notes and soforth. Moreover, other information regarding the image may be providedwith the image data, e.g., as meta data, to inform the user of thesettings, the telescope configuration and type, the weather at the timeof the imaging and so forth. The interface 700 may further allow theuser to view archived image data, e.g., data that has been previouslyviewed, and to request a new image, e.g., by displaying the interface500. The archived data may be arranged by the date on which it wasobtained or by other criteria, such as object name. Moreover, differentusers, such as members of an astronomy club, or students in an astronomyclass, may be enabled to share files of image data by providingappropriate permissions/security and communication mechanisms.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method for billing users for accessing a telescopeservice. As discussed, various marketing approaches may be implementedby a service provider to charge users a fee for using the telescopeaccess service. Generally, any desired billing and accounting functionscan be implemented by the billing and accounting module 105, which maybe configured using known software and/or hardware techniques. In onepossible approach, the user may purchase and redeems credits via aninterface, such as the interface 500 of FIG. 5. For example, the button“view account status/purchase credits” may be selected to cause adisplay of the number of credits available, and to allow the user topurchase additional credits on-line using a credit card, an onlinepayment service such as Paypal® or the like. Essentially any type ofknown billing system may be used. For instance, the user may receive abill via e-mail or conventional mail. The credits may be packaged suchthat the user receives a discount on the price per credit when buying alarge group of credits. The credits are used or cashed in when the usersavail themselves of various features of the service. For example,credits may be consumed in proportion to the shutter/exposure time usedin imaging a selected object, so that a user is charged more credits fora longer exposure.

Also, credits may be consumed according to the desirability, e.g.,quality, of the telescope used based on its power, location or otherfactors, such that a more desirable telescope costs more credits to use.A ranking system may be developed for the telescopes in this regard. Forexample, telescopes may be assigned to a top tier, medium tier, or basetier according to their desirability. Credits may also be consumed basedon the scheduling of an image, such that an earlier time period can bescheduled for additional credits. Moreover, for users that are not inrush to receive an image, a lower-priced “anytime picture” may beprovided that is scheduled in time periods that would otherwise gounused. Additionally, a discount may be offered to users that request animage well in advance, similar to “early booking” incentives offered inthe travel industry. Various penalties may be assessed for canceling animage request after it is made.

The user may be charged for the services accessed using a shopping cartmodel or other e-commerce technique. Another possibility is to chargethe user a monthly or other periodic fee instead of a per-use fee thatprovides a given less of access to the service, e.g., $10 a month toobtain two images. In any case, a fee is assessed to the user for use ofthe service, whether by credits, per-use fees, monthly subscription feesor other approach. The billing module 105 may also maintain a record ofthe telescopes and observatories that have been used to obtain imagesand provide some type of compensation to them. The observatories mayhave an accounting function 188 that also maintains data regarding theirusage and participation in the service. For example, the accountingfunction 188 may maintain data indicating each time a batch imagerequest job is executed, the exposure time, and so forth. Thesefunctionalities can be achieved using conventional software and hardwaretechniques. The service provider or other entity that controls the dataprocessing facility 110 and billing module 105 may enter into agreementswith the entities that control the observatories to pay them a certainamount based on each use of their telescopes, a flat monthly fee, orsome other arrangement. Additionally, the service provider may promotethe user of specific observatories, e.g., by providing advertising onthe user interfaces and giving priority to them when selecting atelescope to view an image. Such agreements can ensure that theobservatories are fairly compensated for their expenses and encouragetheir cooperation in the system. The entities controlling the telescopesmay become profitable enterprises themselves. The service provider andentities controlling the telescopes may also be commonly owned orotherwise aligned.

The process of FIG. 8 provides a general illustration of a billing andaccounting process, which begins at block 800. The billing andaccounting activities are conducted for individual users and forindividual observatories, or groups of related observatories, such asthose that are commonly controlled by a university or the like. For theindividual users, at block 810, the use of the telescope services by anexemplary one of users is monitored and recorded. The monitoredactivities may include software downloads, image requests, accessing ofother features such as a library of information, exposure times for therequested images, the telescope type and location and the scheduledtimes for the images, e.g., such that a higher charge is assessed for anearlier scheduled time slot. Additionally, the user may be billed basedon a subscription fee, such as a monthly fee, and/or a per use fee.Further fees may be assessed for special events, such as obtaining animage of a rare celestial event or participating in an on-line chat withan astronomer or other person. At block 820, a running balance ismaintained for the user based on the credits purchased and redeemed. Atblock 830, a periodic statement and bill is issued to the user, e.g.,via e-mail or mail, such as when the user is on a monthly subscriptionplan. The billing and accounting for each of the users may be handled asindicated.

At block 840, the observatories are monitored to maintain a record oftheir activities as they relate to the telescope service. For example,this may include monitoring the number of image requests processed bythe observatory, the exposure times, the total time consumed inprocessing an image request, including the time to position andconfigure the telescope, the scheduled times at which the images wereobtained, and any periodic or per use fees that are due the owners oroperators of the observatory as compensation for their participation inthe telescope service. Additional compensation may be paid forparticipation in special events. At bock 850, periodic statements andpayments are provided to the observatories based on the usage of theobservatory and other agreed-upon provisions. Typically, an entity thatcontrols an observatory may engage in an agreement with an entity thatoperates the telescope service to set the fees that will be paid.

Accordingly, it can be seen that the present invention provides a systemand method for enabling a user to obtain, view and store image data of aselected celestial object from a network of available telescopes using acomputer-generated user interface. Information is accessed regarding thetelescopes from data sources such as databases and live data feeds toautomatically select one or more telescopes that are suitable forimaging the object, e.g., according to factors such as telescope type,power and configuration, location, weather conditions and altitude. Theuser may select a particular one of the suitable telescopes from aschedule of available telescopes and imaging times that is presented viathe interface. At the scheduled imaging time, an image is recorded ofthe celestial object using an imaging device such as a CCD cameraassociated with the selected telescope and communicated to a centraldata store. The user can then access a web site associated with the datastore to view the image. The user may be charged for the service basedon factors such as exposure time, type of telescope and the like.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in connectionwith preferred embodiments, many variations and modifications as will beevident to those skilled in this art may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention, and the invention is thus not tobe limited to the precise details of methodology or construction setforth above as such variations and modification are intended to beincluded within the scope of the invention.

1. A method for selecting a telescope out of a plurality of telescopes,comprising: determining, using software instructions at a dataprocessing facility that is remote from a user, from which one or moretelescopes, out of the plurality of telescopes, a celestial object ofinterest is viewable; determining, using software instructions at thedata processing facility, one or more times at which the celestialobject is viewable on each of the one or more determined telescopes;accessing, at the remote data processing facility, at least one sourceof information relating to the one or more determined telescopesincluding a distance to the one or more determined telescopes when thecelestial object of interest is at its zenith; and selecting, using thesoftware instructions at the data processing facility and based at leaston the shortest distance to the celestial object of interest at itszenith, a telescope out of the one or more determined telescopes and atime out of the one or more determined times at which the selectedtelescope can obtain an image of the celestial object.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein moon proximity to the celestial object of interest isused to exclude one of more of the one or more determined telescopesfrom being a selected telescope.
 3. A system for selecting a telescopeout of a plurality of telescopes, comprising: a data processing facilitythat is remote from a user, the data processing facility having one ormore computer processors executing software instructions that performthe steps of: determining from which one or more telescopes, out of theplurality of telescopes, a celestial object of interest is viewable inresponse to receiving user input selecting the celestial object ofinterest; determining one or more times at which the celestial object isviewable on each of the one or more determined telescopes; accessing, atthe data processing facility, at least one source of informationrelating to the one or more determined telescopes including a distanceto the one or more determined telescopes when the celestial object ofinterest is at its zenith; and selecting, based at least on the shortestdistance to the celestial object of interest at its zenith, a telescopeout of the one or more determined telescopes and a time out of the oneor more determined times at which the selected telescope can obtain animage of the celestial object.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein moonproximity to the celestial object of interest is used to exclude one ofmore of the one or more determined telescopes from being a selectedtelescope.
 5. A method for providing access to a selected telescope outof a plurality of telescopes, comprising: determining, using softwareinstructions at a data processing facility that is remote from a user,from which one or more telescopes, out of the plurality of telescopes, acelestial object of interest is viewable in response to receiving userinput selecting the celestial object of interest; determining, usingsoftware instructions at the data processing facility, one or more timesat which the celestial object is viewable on each of the one or moredetermined telescopes; accessing, at the remote data processingfacility, at least one source of information relating to the one or moredetermined telescopes including a rise and set time of the celestialobject of interest with respect to a location of each of the one or moredetermined telescope; selecting, using the software instructions at thedata processing facility and based at least on the rise and set time ofthe celestial object of interest with respect to the location of each ofthe one or more determined telescope, a telescope out of the one or moredetermined telescopes and a time out of the one or more determined timesat which the selected telescope can suitably view the selected celestialobject; and communicating with the selected telescope to obtain an imageof the selected celestial object.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein moonproximity to the celestial object of interest is used to exclude one ofmore of the one or more determined telescopes from being a selectedtelescope.
 7. A system for providing access to a selected telescope outof a plurality of telescopes, comprising: a data processing facilitythat is remote from a user, the data processing facility having one ormore computer processors executing software instructions that performthe steps of: determining from which one or more telescopes, out of theplurality of telescopes, a celestial object of interest is viewable inresponse to receiving user input selecting the celestial object ofinterest; determining one or more times at which the celestial object isviewable on each of the one or more determined telescopes; accessing, atthe data processing facility, at least one data source of informationrelating to the one or more determined telescopes including a rise andset time of the celestial object of interest with respect to a locationof each of the one or more determined telescope; selecting, based atleast on the rise and set time of the celestial object of interest withrespect to the location of each of the one or more determined telescope,a telescope out of the one or more determined telescopes and a time outof the one or more determined times at which the selected telescope cansuitably view the selected celestial object; and communicating with theselected telescope to obtain an image of the selected celestial object.8. The system of claim 7, wherein moon proximity to the celestial objectof interest is used to exclude one of more of the one or more determinedtelescopes from being a selected telescope.